


The R&J Exchange

by eri_quin



Series: A RMNTT-Ruled Remnant [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Can Still Be Read Stand Alone Though, Depression, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Letters, Male-Female Friendship, Melancholy, Older Man/Younger Woman, Pen Pals, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Relationship-IronRose, References to Depression, References to bullying, Slightly more serious to Team RAMEN! (even if they're related fics)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28637439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_quin/pseuds/eri_quin
Summary: Where James found himself with a penpal and writing back, and ended up with a strange kind of friendship that he was actually enjoying. If he found himself a Romeo, he supposed he could deal with being 'Juliet'.
Relationships: James Ironwood & Ruby Rose, James Ironwood & Winter Schnee, James Ironwood/Ruby Rose
Series: A RMNTT-Ruled Remnant [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098623
Comments: 24
Kudos: 51





	1. First Letters

"Specialist Schnee! What do you think of the designs this person sent? They're incredible!" the man excitedly said. "And the specifications are very innovative!"

Winter hmmed, glancing over said weapon designs and keeping a neutral face on. However, she was indeed very impressed with the weapon plans in her hands.

"I'll let General Ironwood see these," she answered him. "He'll make a decision and I'll let you know the details afterwards."

This was highly irregular and not the usual method for any weapons design to be looked at and/or admitted. They had a strict policy and process in looking and accepting designs for weapons, usually with an official submission procedure allowing for those (usually from and preferential treatment for Atlesians). Those from outside the kingdom were rarely looked at, if there were any at all.

It was by whim that Director Russet had decided to take a look at submissions himself, and saw this one letter in particular, it seemed. Needless to say, that man was so excited about it that he'd sought her out to ask about accepting the proposition and contacting this individual.

Given the unusual circumstances though, she thought the General would like to see this himself and make his own mind about it.

* * *

On a large, smooth marble desk, neat and organized, sat a tall man who was looking out of his floor-to-ceiling windows in contemplation. A plain letter was open and spread out on his desk with designs and intriguing ideas on weapons.

What an interesting surprise this was —a short, to the point letter from some island in Vale. A letter that was a submission to his military's WAD, complete with design prospects and highly curious ideas and specs that set his weapon specialists alight with excitement and debate. It was unusual to have had a submission outside of Atlas and from so far away as to be from Vale (the _exact_ location being a nowhere island by the name of Patch), and even more unusual that it had been mailed straight to the WAD Director like…regular mail.

It hadn't been, as his WAD Director revealed to him, sent in through the division's official submission channels. He had found it in a pile containing all of his mail coming in from his work mail box, and had chanced upon the letter. Having read through and found the letter, he'd given a chance on the designs and hadn't regretted his whim to look through the plans.

The location and the method of delivery were what interested James, with the two details having caught his attention to this case. And then, seeing the actual weapon designs and the ideas, made him highly interested in pursuing the matter himself. That's why…

Swiveling his chair to face his desk, he pulled paper and pen towards himself and began to write back himself.

Started 12/26/20 – Completed 12/29/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, the R&J penpal side-story I decided to do after all XD Team 'Ramen' isn't featured (yet, maybe, who knows later on), but for now we get fluffy rot between these too lol. Since this one's short, I'll give another chapter of this as well~ Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Quick Points:
> 
> 1\. Honestly, I was going to end up writing this as a drabble-ish/vignette style thing, and then I was 'nope, gotta get some more details I want in there lol'. At one point, I had thought I would just write it out through letters and that's it –but that was so not happening. This what you all get instead though: vignette length to shortish (and maybe not so short) chapters. Welp.
> 
> 2\. This time, all James' POV.
> 
> 3\. Also, was going to put this out later (much later), but seriously –the idea and things going on in Volume 8 is killing me…I need to shower James with love (like I did for Laurence Dominic of Dollhouse, Agent Kallus of Star Wars Rebels, for Nolan Sorrento of Ready Player One, Sasori and Itachi and Rasa of Naruto…I got a type, okay? XD)
> 
> 4\. I can't do html/CSS for shit XD I went with pictures for the letters, so the colors and 'handwriting' style would stay lol.


	2. Replies

James was speedily typing away, barely blinking as he worked on his computer. His Scroll vibrated and he reached over and dismissed the call without looking over at it. Not that morning, thank you very much.

Finishing up, he then looked to his pile of mail, looking through it and eyes landing on a letter with the familiar pretty cursive he'd only seen once so far. Taking the envelope from the pile and tossing the rest back where he'd grabbed it from, he quickly opened up the envelope and fished out the letter.

James raised his eyebrow at the letter, lips unwittingly quirking up. The writer sounded young and enthusiastic, someone full of life and rather bubbly. The presumption of him writing back made him actually amused, though a slither of pity made its way into him. To be someone who sounded rather lonely and longing for company, even if (not that they knew) they didn't know it was the likes of himself, James felt almost compelled to write back.

And honestly, he just really wanted to.

As before, he rummaged around for a piece of paper and his pen, noting that whoever they were liked to use red ink in their letters and thinking that maybe he might do something in kind. He also decided to continue to address himself as 'J' —he didn't want them to know who he really was; first being that it would do no good to let someone know that he was the one writing these replies, but also he decided he liked the casualness this afforded him to hide behind a pseudonym.

Given their question, James thought it wouldn't be remiss of him to ask one of his own.

He was curious after all.

Started 12/29/20 – Completed 12/29/20


	3. Formal and Casual

Cradling his coffee cup, he sat in his home and ignored the weather outside. It was storming out and he was admittedly thankful he hadn't gone into headquarters or the academy, and had decided to work from home today. His gut feeling telling him to do so saved him a long, exhaustive, freezing trip and being stuck there for who knows how long.

Flipping through his mail he'd had forwarded to him, he wondered if he'd get a reply from 'that person' today. Due to the distance between Atlas and Vale, it would take _at least_ two weeks for his letter to get to them and for their replies to come back. It should be around that time that he should get a reply…

Finding said letter, he surprisingly found himself with a small grin as he took it and opened it up.  
  


James choked on his coffee a bit at the end, caught off guard by the sudden inclusion of personal information. He hadn't expected her ( _Her_ —so he was talking to a her) to tell him so much about herself and he also was surprised to be asked about himself. Well, she'd already asked questions of him, but it was getting a little more personal and he wasn't sure how he should respond.

There was also that, unlike the previous two letters, this one had discarded any form of formality and there was barely any talk of business of any sort —it was penned like…like he was a penpal she was familiar writing to.

A…penpal.

The idea wasn't balking to him and he admitted he was already enjoying writing to her. He guessed perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to continue on like this. He had been curious about this weapon designer in the first place and already he was fond of their letters.

She was young though —definitely younger than him, attending Signal and all. Should he be communicating with a student, a young girl like this?

Well, then again, it was all innocent and he shouldn't feel guilty or upset at all. Plus, it had started out through proper means and had been about business. It was just becoming much more friendly now after all.

Much more confident and having decided on continuing the correspondence beyond the concluding weapon designs deal, he put down his coffee and retrieved paper and pen to write back.  
  


James chuckled to himself as he then took a look at the attached full weapon designs (leaving Winter's letter aside), thinking he'd maybe gone overboard to himself with his reply letter. A tiny niggling feeling made him aware of the unease of unintentionally confiding so much, but it was a letter and it wasn't too personal. At least he thought so.

He wondered what she'd say back though. He guessed he'd find out in two weeks, but…

Maybe two weeks was too long to wait for a reply. He could speed it up and make sure it gets to her in days. He was General of Atlas and could easily pull some strings. Their letters could be exchanged in a matter of days.

James didn't usually use his status for such frivolous things, but he found himself enjoying having a penpal all of a sudden.

Started 12/29/20 – Completed 12/30/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fact that this, with its short chapters, chosen characters and implied relationship, and strange plot has any interest in it at all is utterly wonderful. Thanks, guys ;-; Hope you keep reading and enjoying!


	4. Colors

James wondered if he left out enough to make sure she or anyone else couldn't link the letters to himself. He was sure he did and thought she would definitely not think it was "General Ironwood" who was writing to her. Would she mind it so much if she knew though?

R probably wouldn't have expected his letter to have arrived so fast. Though if she took up the habit of writing a reply just as quickly, he was sure that he could expect one from her just as fast.

Thinking of her as R and if, for some reason, he had to talk about her, he felt strange doing so with just a letter. It should be fine and yet he found himself wanting to attach a name, even a faux one. He should probably write to her about it, see what she thought.

"Sir, a letter for you," Winter told him, handing it to him. "Only thing in your mailbox currently."

"Thank you, Specialist Schnee," he said distractedly, reaching for it. Seeing the familiar red ink, his lips twitched up. She probably saw it, to his chagrin, but she said nothing and left after he dismissed her.

He quickly opened the envelope and started to read.  
  


His eyebrows raised when he read her sniping distance —that was remarkable. It sounded like R was a sharpshooter and more than capable with her sniper rifle.

However, it did sound like he was right about her loneliness and lack of companionship. It made him more sure that he wasn't doing anything wrong with writing back to her and that this could be a good thing, especially for her.

Getting out a piece of paper, he searched out the blue-inked pen he got specifically for these letters and began to write.  
  


James concluded his letter in satisfaction and hoped she would send one back soon.

Started 12/30/20 – Completed 12/30/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoho! A little longer than usual –and wow, people actually reading this XD Still utterly fantastic~ More love for James ;-; I'm trying to get this as sweet and fluffy as possible –some nice, lighthearted stuff just to relax to and enjoy, lol. Especially with RL was/is being stressful and Season 8 is making my heart hurt. Definitely looking to humanize Ironwood to compensate.


	5. Cheer

For once, James had a day off. He thought he'd spend it home, unusually enough, and do as he once told R he liked to do —read by his fireplace. Having written that to her made him think of it and now he'd found the perfect time to do so. But first, he had a new letter from R to read.

Quick to open it up, he started to read eagerly. He frowned though, when he realized that he saw some areas being tear-stained, even from the back of the paper.  
  


  
James was more than worried about R by now and admitted that he was upset he couldn't do anything. He didn't like knowing she was upset about something and had even cried over whatever it was. He wanted to cheer her up, but he didn't know what he could do for her.

He also wasn't happy that she thought that he was only indulging her, that she didn't understand that he reciprocated her enthusiasm for their letter exchange. James, since deciding to continue this correspondence, genuinely found himself happy to write to her and was eager to get one of her letters back. He just needed to find a way to get her to see that.

Once again, James recalled he was off that day. He had nothing else to do. He didn't have to work. So he could…he could…he could figure something out for her. What did girls like?

Gifts. Any female of any age liked gifts, didn't they? Even Winter on occasion would wear some trinket or two that was given by someone.

He was out of his house as soon as he got ready and headed to a popular outlet he'd overheard was pretty useful for shopping for others.

James' first thought was that maybe she'd like pretty things. She was a girl, but then again that didn't always stand to mean that she would be typical and like 'girly' things. She had, after all, expressed her love for weapons. So maybe a compromise between the two, so he could make sure either way?

He found the outlet's map and looked through it, trying to determine the best shop to head to. Heedless of the glances towards him, he determinedly went to the one shop he was betting on. Relieved that he'd made the right choice the first time around, he looked around the Dust jewelry shop for something R might like.

"Can I help you, Sir?" one of the employees came towards him and James ignored the obvious wide eyes and glances at his military uniform.

"I'd like something that can transform into a weapon," he said bluntly.

"Matthews, I can take over," they were interrupted by whom he saw was the manager, smiling congenially at James. "General Ironwood! Welcome to this humble store. I think I overheard you asking about some of our jewelry that could be turned into a weapon?"

"That's right. I have a friend," he said naturally, not even pausing at saying it, "who I'd like to give something pretty to cheer her up with. She likes weapons though, so I ideally would prefer if the jewelry could transform into something functional."

"Do you remember if she has long or short hair?" the manager asked and James inwardly frowned. He hadn't gotten to ask her how she looked; they hadn't gotten to that point yet.

"I'm not sure," he answered and the manager gestured to a certain area. "We have a selection of hair combs and hair clips that can change into various blades. Good for a quick surprise attack, if she needed a weapon suddenly."

James hummed, already looking over the display case. "Red is her favorite color, so something with rubies perhaps…"

"May I suggest this then?"

The man picked out a very pretty [hair clip](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/819162619720532705/), composed of silver floral designs that reminded him of his revolvers, with twin rubies inlaid in the middle and parallel to each other. Then the manager changed it and it became a sharp, thin dagger.

James nodded, pleased. "It's perfect. Wouldn't do anything against Grimm, but it's more than sufficient for an enemy attacker."

"Very good, General! Good choice," the other praised. "I'll ring it up."

He made a nonchalant noise, taking one last look and eyes alighting on something.

"That as well," he pointed it out. The manager made a pleased noise as he went to grab the other item.

Besides, his gut told him that he would need that one for the future.

* * *

Once home, he focused on one thing —writing back and sending a letter back for her to come home to (if her Signal field trip was one of those that were meant to last a few days) and a gift to cheer her up (as well as some choice words).  
  


Started 12/30/20 – Completed 12/31/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super happy this little niche story has somehow gained a bit of audience XD Thanks for reading and sticking around, guys!


	6. Poetic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weird that the publishing date for this wanted to go back in time??? Like it's not really February 25, so...¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

James groaned, not wanting to open his eyes. Sighing to himself, he peered at his clock, seeing that he was five minutes awake before his alarm was to go off. Reluctantly getting up, he made to get ready for the day. Several times his Scroll went off, messages from others bugging him already in the morning, and he ignored them in favor of getting ready. Once he was all set, he headed to his office at the Academy and told himself to keep his patience, despite his Scroll still repeatedly going off.

He'd just settled down when Winter knocked on his doors and came in after he bid her enter.

"Morning, Sir," she greeted. She held up his papers for the day and he counted to ten in his head. "I have these for you for now, and I believe a letter came in addressed to 'Juliet'? I'm not sure who that is, but it was addressed to your office."

Blinking, James accepted the papers, forgoing them for the letter. Opening it, he immediately found himself smiling, not noticing that Winter was still there and was taken aback from his expression.  
  


James laughed quietly. 'Juliet', huh? Well, it sure would throw anyone off track over his identity. He should probably encourage her to avoid referring to him as a he too, while he was at it. He was also glad she seemed to like his gift —hopefully it did what it was supposed to, and cheered her up and remind her he was there for her when she wanted to talk to someone.

Speaking of which, it seemed she was still feeling a bit down, considering the underlying melancholic tone to her letter and her last words concerning her favorite fairytale.

Well, he had something to say about that.

Paper and pen ready, he got to work on his reply.  
  


Started 12/31/20 – Completed 12/31/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, darlings~ I'll try to be a little more active in the future, but no promises. In the meantime, I hope you guys liked this simple, fluffy chapter between the two :D
> 
> Quick Points:
> 
> 1\. That last poem at the end that James quoted is by Emily Dickinson.
> 
> 2\. They finally gave each other their names! Yay XD These dorks…
> 
> 3\. The fairytales mentioned are actual fairytales from the show and that were officially written and put together in an official published book by EC Meyers. I bought and read them just for my RWBY fanfics XD


End file.
